How to start a family book club
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Reading is one of the most important skills children need to learn. You have to know how to read to survive in life. Honestly, with today’s technology, I feel reading has been put on the back burner. I pull teeth to get my kids to read. I have no clue if it is because they would rather watch a movie or haven’t found a book series they like, or all of the above. I have talked to lots of parents that say the same thing. I am fed up with my kids not taking the time to read. So I started a family book club.
What is a book club?
Book clubs have been trendy. You meet once a week or month at a coffee shop or someone’s house, and now with social media networks and online clubs, many have chosen to be part of a book club online. It’s simply a group of people that read the same book and then chat about it. It’s a great way to get more out of a book. You hear how others interpret the book, and you get to share your thoughts about the book.
Why a family book club?
I started a family book club to help get my kids to read. Maybe if they were required to participate in the discussion, they would read the book. Yes, it started with grumpy attitudes, but our meeting once a week has been fabulous. We end up talking about the book and discussing school and other topics. Not only are my kids reading, but we are growing closer and communicating more as a family. The main goal was to get my family to read more, but it has turned into so much more than that.
How to start a family book club!
Last Christmas, my husband and I bought Kindles for two of our kids. In hopes, they would start reading. All of us have Kindles to read off of. I still prefer an actual paper book, but a Kindle comes in handy when traveling, reading in the dark because of the backlight, and using the dictionary for words you are unsure of.
Amazon also has a family share on prime, so we started sharing books with each Kindle. This is what got me to think about the family book club. The four of us can read the same book simultaneously on each device. The great thing is we don’t have to read at the same pace. For example, my book will not sync to what page my daughter is on. We share the books, not read the same page simultaneously. We chose this method so I didn’t have to go out and buy four copies of the same book or have to share one copy.
As a family, we played paper-rock-scissors as to who would be the first to pick what book everyone would read. So my son was the first to choose, and then my daughter the next book. We rotate on who picks the book, and then we all read it. Some books are better than others, but we are all reading and getting something out of them.
Yes, it is tough sometimes because my kids are reading a book they wouldn’t necessarily pick out, but they are reading, and who knows, maybe they end up liking what the other person picks, even though they won’t admit it!
Paper book VS Electronic Reading Device
As mentioned before, we went with the electronic reading device method for our family book club, but that isn’t the only way to have a family book club. It is possible to buy however many copies of a book you need or check books out at your local library. You can also have one copy, sit down each night, read as a family, and then talk about what you read. This works great for when kids are little. Now that my kids are older and need more independent reading, we decided to go with the kindles. BONUS: I can see if they are actually reading on my Amazon Prime. This keeps us all in check.
Takeaway
The main goal is to get kids reading. Reading opens a whole new world. Family book club benefits the entire family. It’s a great way to connect, learn, and improve those essential reading skills.
A few of our family's favorite books
